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Toyota’s Mystery Three-Row EV Is Almost Here

Toyota’s slow-burn teaser campaign just took a sharp turn toward the real world. The company has finally dropped its first official photo and video of its upcoming SUV—and confirmed that the full reveal lands February 10. After months of speculation, patent sleuthing, and corporate breadcrumbs, we now have something resembling a shape. And that shape is unmistakably large.

Everything we’re seeing points to a three-row electric SUV, a long-promised piece of Toyota’s EV puzzle that now appears to be ready for primetime. The interior shots give the game away: a second row with captain’s chairs suggests either a six- or seven-seat layout, and the sheer amount of glass—thanks to a panoramic sunroof—makes this thing feel more family road-trip than futuristic pod.

Toyota’s designers haven’t been asleep at the wheel, either. A full digital gauge cluster sits ahead of the driver, while a big tablet-style infotainment screen dominates the center stack. USB ports tucked into the bases of the C-pillars hint at a vehicle that expects rear-seat passengers to be as plugged in as the powertrain. In other words, this is a modern, tech-forward hauler designed for people who actually use the third row.

But the real story is what this SUV is, not just what it looks like.

Back in 2021, Toyota showed off the bZ Large SUV concept—then called the bZ5X—a three-row EV that was supposed to be part of a massive 15-vehicle electric blitz. Since then, Toyota has quietly stepped back from the awkward “bZ” branding while reshuffling its EV strategy, but one thing has remained consistent: a big, U.S.-built, three-row electric SUV was always coming.

And this sure looks like it.

Patent images we uncovered earlier, especially of the concept’s rear end, line up eerily well with what Toyota just teased. The proportions, the body creases, and that wide rear light bar all match. Even the window shape—with its distinctive triangular base at the front—lines up with the filings. If this isn’t the production version of the bZ Large SUV, then Toyota has pulled off one of the most convincing misdirects in recent memory.

What Toyota hasn’t told us yet is the name—and that’s where things get spicy.

While industry insiders have been calling this thing the bZ5X for years, Toyota’s growing discomfort with the “bZ” label suggests something more familiar might be in the works. Enter Highlander.

Toyota already builds a wildly successful three-row crossover in the Grand Highlander, which absolutely crushed its shorter sibling last year. The standard Highlander’s sales fell more than 37 percent to just over 56,000 units, while the Grand Highlander surged nearly 91 percent to almost 137,000. That kind of split practically begs for a rethink—and electrifying the regular Highlander would be one way to do it.

An electric Highlander—or even something like a “bZ Highlander”—would make a lot of sense. Ford proved with the Mustang Mach-E that familiar nameplates can smooth the transition to electric, even when the vehicle underneath is something entirely new. Customers trust the Highlander name, and Toyota would be wise to lean on that goodwill as it tries to get conservative buyers comfortable with plugging in.

We already know this SUV will be built in Kentucky with batteries sourced from Toyota’s North Carolina facility, and production is expected to begin in the first half of 2026. The reveal next week in California should finally lock in the name, the specs, and just how serious Toyota is about re-entering the EV race it once helped invent—and then strangely abandoned.

So call it the bZ5X, the Grand Crown, or the Electric Highlander. What matters is that Toyota’s long-teased three-row EV is real, it’s coming, and it’s about to become one of the most important vehicles the company has launched in a decade.

And in a market where big electric family haulers are still thin on the ground, Toyota just showed up to the fight with something that actually looks ready to sell.

Source: Toyota

News

Porsche to Close Nearly a Third of Its China Showrooms Amid Steep Sales Drop

For years, China was Porsche’s turbocharger. It took the brand’s already bulletproof balance sheet and spooled it up with relentless growth, seemingly immune to global slowdowns or shifting buyer tastes. Now, that same market is acting more like a blown head gasket.

Porsche is preparing to shut down roughly 30 percent of its Chinese dealerships, a dramatic retreat that underscores just how badly things have turned. By 2026, the brand plans to operate only about 80 showrooms in China—down from 114 by the end of 2025 and roughly 150 just a year earlier. That’s not a trim. That’s a hard reset.

Officially, Porsche China CEO Pan Liqi says the move is about cost control. But the timing tells a harsher story. Late in 2025, multiple Porsche stores reportedly closed outright, some leaving behind half-finished deals, missing paperwork, and customers chasing refunds after franchise operators simply disappeared. In the ultra-polished world of Porsche retail, that kind of disorder is a flashing warning light on the dash.

The Sales Collapse Behind the Curtain

The numbers explain the urgency. Porsche delivered 41,938 vehicles in China in 2025, a 26 percent drop from the year before. That alone would be painful. But zoom out a little more and it gets ugly: in 2022, Porsche sold nearly 96,000 cars in China. In just three years, the brand has lost more than half its volume.

That collapse is dragging down the entire company. Global Porsche deliveries fell 10 percent in 2025, to 279,449 vehicles, with declines in every region except North America, which merely held steady. China isn’t just underperforming—it’s the anchor tied to Porsche’s bumper.

And while macroeconomic factors matter, Porsche’s product mix isn’t helping. Electric vehicles, once supposed to be the brand’s next growth engine, are getting absolutely steamrolled by domestic Chinese rivals.

Taycan Meets Its Match

The Taycan, Porsche’s technological flag bearer, is bleeding. Sales fell another 22 percent in 2025, following a steep drop the year before. Local competitors like Xiaomi are offering flashy, high-tech electric sedans at far lower prices, and Chinese buyers—long loyal to European prestige—are no longer automatically paying extra for a Stuttgart badge.

The result? Porsche is quietly backing away from its all-in EV posture in China. In the near term, the company is shifting focus back toward internal-combustion engines and hybrids, where its brand cachet and engineering reputation still carry more weight.

A Retreat That Looks Like Repositioning

The money saved from all those shuttered showrooms won’t just pad the balance sheet. Porsche says it will funnel the cash into research and development, including a new integrated R&D center in Shanghai designed to tailor future products more closely to Chinese tastes.

Two new crossovers—both offered with gasoline and plug-in hybrid powertrains—are slated to debut later this year. That suggests Porsche has realized what many Western automakers are learning the hard way: Chinese buyers don’t just want electrification. They want choice, and they want it wrapped in cutting-edge software and design.

But even with new models on the way, expectations are being reset. Porsche has said that in 2026 it will prioritize “quality over quantity” in China—a corporate way of admitting that another weak year is likely.

From Growth Engine to Reality Check

China didn’t just make Porsche bigger. It made the company believe that demand for premium German performance was effectively unlimited. That illusion is now gone.

What remains is a brutally competitive, tech-driven market where local brands are fast, smart, and cheap—and where prestige alone no longer guarantees sales. Porsche is still Porsche, but in China, the road ahead is no longer a high-speed autobahn. It’s a tight, crowded street, and the brand is finally being forced to slow down and pick its line carefully.

For a company built on momentum, that may be the hardest shift of all.

Source: Car News China

News

Next-Gen Audi RS5 Will Be a Plug-In Hybrid

Audi Sport is about to cross a line it’s been circling for years. The next-generation RS5 won’t just be faster, sharper, or louder—it’ll be electrified. For the first time, Audi’s compact performance coupe and Sportback will arrive with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, marking a pivotal shift for one of the brand’s most important RS models.

The news didn’t come via a splashy press release or a choreographed reveal. Instead, Audi accidentally let the cat out of the carbon-fiber bag with a briefly posted—and quickly deleted—LinkedIn update that plainly stated: “The new Audi RS 5… will be our first high-performance plug-in hybrid.” Whoops.

But the message is clear: the RS5 is heading into the electrified era, and Audi Sport is betting that batteries and boost can coexist with burnouts and Nürburgring lap times.

Why Audi Had to Go Hybrid

The writing has been on the wall. Europe’s looming Euro 7 emissions standards are brutally strict, and even Audi’s beloved twin-turbo V6 can’t survive on gasoline alone forever. The S5 already made the jump to mild-hybrid tech, so a plug-in RS5 was the logical next step.

Unlike mild hybrids, a PHEV RS5 will be able to drive on electric power alone—at least for short distances. That’s great for city driving and emissions compliance, but the real reason Audi is doing this is much more on-brand: more power.

Electric motors deliver instant torque, and when paired with a turbocharged engine, they create the kind of shove that makes modern super sedans feel like they’ve been rear-ended by a freight train. The RS5 has always been quick. The new one could be genuinely outrageous.

The Powertrain: V6 + Electricity = Trouble (the Good Kind)

Audi hasn’t confirmed specs yet, but all signs point to a familiar heart: the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 from the previous RS4 and RS5, which made 450 horsepower on its own. Add an electric motor to that, and you’re suddenly looking at a very serious number—likely well north of 500 hp.

Audi could go conservative, or it could aim straight at the king of the electrified sports-sedan hill: the Mercedes-AMG C 63 E Performance. That car uses a turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor to produce a bonkers 680 horsepower and 1018 Nm of torque. It’s brutally fast—and brutally controversial.

Ironically, AMG is already backing away from that setup, reportedly preparing a return to a six-cylinder engine for the next C 63. Audi, meanwhile, may be sliding into that power vacuum with a hybrid V6 that offers both drama and drivability.

The Weight Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about plug-in hybrids: batteries are heavy. Very heavy.

BMW’s new M5 PHEV tips the scales at a staggering 2,445 kg, roughly 460 kg heavier than the outgoing model. That’s not just extra mass—it’s a handling nightmare waiting to happen.

Audi knows this. The RS5 has always been about precision and balance, not just straight-line muscle. Keeping the new RS5 from feeling like a rolling lithium-ion brick will be one of Audi Sport’s biggest engineering challenges.

If they get it right, the electric motor could actually improve handling by filling torque gaps and helping rotate the car out of corners. If they get it wrong, well… physics doesn’t care about marketing.

Looks: Loud, Wide, and Proud

Spy shots confirm what you’d expect from a modern RS car: subtlety has left the building.

The next RS5 will wear aggressively sculpted bumpers, flared fenders, and a fresh take on Audi’s signature oval exhaust outlets. It’s not pretending to be an A5 with better tires. This thing wants to be seen—and heard.

In a world where some performance cars try to blend in, the RS5 is leaning hard into its role as Audi’s street-legal track missile.

The new Audi RS5 isn’t just another evolution—it’s a philosophical shift. It’s Audi Sport admitting that the future of high performance is no longer purely mechanical, but electrical too.

If Audi can deliver the speed we expect without sacrificing the sharp, confident feel that made the RS5 great in the first place, this could be one of the most important RS cars ever built.

The RS5 is plugging in. Now we wait to see just how hard it hits.

Source: Audi

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